What really is next-gen gaming?

What really is next-gen gaming? April 7, 2008

Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Video Games , trackback

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is (if you didn’t get this from the title) what truly is next-gen gaming. Now I’ve been playing video games for a while, my first game ever (that I remember) was watching my older brother play NiGHTS on the Sega Genesis, which was groundbreaking in having a joystiq and 3-D gameplay. And then, I remember it being flashly, cool, and pixilated. My next encounter was the N64, which I recall as being very cool and accurate, especially in some games. Yes, you read that sentence right, the N64. Why? Because it was next-gen, back then, and no-one knew better, especially not myself. What was the next “next-gen”? The Dreamcast. I can still remember the Sunday I got it, and played Sonic Adventure, and was blown away. I still to this day have my brain lie to me about how good that game was, because I remember it as being an incredibly realistic, and just an awesome experience. Youtube videos of the game prove me today otherwise correct. Again, this was because this was “next-gen” then. Next was the PS2, which also, has the initial blown away factor, but playing one today is no big deal, as its no longer “next-gen”. When the Gamecube and XBOX launched a year later, I remember not being amazed by grapihcs, as I had adjusted to the graphics of last gen consoles. Finally, i go back a year and a half, to the XBOX 360 launch. This console generation promised (at least on 360/PS3 part), graphical capabilities on par with real life. And, when that XBOX was first turned on, I was simply amazed at how good it looked. The PS3 I found a year later was a bit nicer then the XBOX, but nothing major. (The Wii for the most part, went next-gen in a totally different way, which I’ll hopefully address later. ) I guess the thought I’m trying to leave you all with is that what makes a next-gen gaming is a term that evolves as the technology does, and what we call -next-gen now could be and very probably will be rendered old by the next consoles, and that tech ages really really fast. Hope you all enjoyed my childhood forays into technology, and if you like this sort of thing sound off in the comments, and I’ll try to do this more often.

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